Concealment, an act of intentionally withholding information for some purposes, is considered to be often employed by caregivers to veil the terminal status of the patients. This paper therefore investigates the pragmatics of concealment in interactions between terminally-ill patients and their caregivers as it relates to psychotherapeutic process; thereby complementing existing studies which have largely captured attitudes, strategies and structures of such discourses. Seven interactions, capturing cancer, heart disease and kidney failure, were collected through tape-recording and participants’ observation at University College Hospital, Ibadan, between February and August, 2016. These were transcribed and analysed using convergence aspect of Gile’s Communication Accommodation Theory. Findings show that concealment in this discourse pragmatically configures psychotherapeutic context which bifurcates into palliative psychotherapy and cognitive-behavioural therapy. Palliative psychotherapy, through shared situational knowledge and mutual contextual belief, raises hope of recovery and dislodges fear of death. Cognitive-behavioural therapy, through shared cultural knowledge, facilitates compliance and support in the healing process. The aforementioned findings resonate that the use of concealment in therapeutic discourse psychologically changes the underlying thoughts that contribute to mental depression and modifies the problematic behaviours that result from these thoughts
Regret, a cognitive phenomenon capable of revealing a person's disposition about certain realities, is conceived as a tool to unpack Nigerian migrants' perceptions about the country. This paper examines discourse strategies of regrets' construction in the online discourses of Nigerian migrants. The data consist of eighty-eight responses of Nigerian migrants downloaded from the NAIRALAND where many Nigerians in the diaspora expressed their regrets about leaving the country. These were subjected to qualitative-descriptive analysis, using van Dijk's (2007) model of discourse strategies. The findings uncover two forms of regrets constructed in the discourse: positive and negative. The positive regrets' construction characterizes "not leaving early" regrets; positive self-appraisal and negative representation of the country. Frustration experience in the foreign countries and juxtaposition of specific circumstances in Nigeria to contemporary experiences elsewhere frame negative regrets' construction. These were constructed through discourse strategies such as presupposition, implication, lexicalization, hyperbole, illustration, metaphor and disclaimer. These Nigerians' use of language in this discourse indexes hopelessness, visionless leaders, lawlessness and economic hardship. The study concludes that while the views of Nigerian migrants may not be true, perhaps, the government may urgently look into these views and act to convince other Nigerians to prevent the exodus of prospective Nigerian migrants which could lead to brain drain.
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